“He’s NFL-ready, as sound a quarterback as anyone I’ve seen. He throws a tight spiral, has flawless mechanics and an array of throws.

“I have no doubt he’ll be a successful pro.”

Luck has two weeks to decide if he will enter the draft — he’s projected to be the No. 1 pick — or return for his junior season. The Carolina Panthers (2-13) own the first selection.

“Unfortunately (for the top picks), they come into bad teams because that’s how the system is set up,’’ Jaworski said.

“But we’ve seen (rookie quarterbacks) like the Joe Flaccos and Matt Ryans get into the right situation, where they aren’t expected to win games. That part falls on the head coach.’’

(bullet) Stanford defensive coordinator Vic Fangio spent nearly a month watching film of Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor. He even called several coaches in the Atlantic Coast Conference and asked about containing the league’s player of the year.

“Our biggest challenging will be tackling him in open spaces; that’s where a lot of his stuff comes from,’’ said Fangio, who compared Taylor to Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas.

“With a guy like this, you always have to defend two plays. You’ve got to defend the passing play they’ve called in their huddle, and then you have to defend the play that he might create on his own.”

(bullet) While it’s not part of daily life for the Virginia Tech football team, the campus shooting that killed 32 people in April 2007 remains a part of the program’s character.

“To see how the community responded shows you what the school is all about,’’ senior receiver Danny Coale said. “It made the student body stronger, and it made the team stronger.’’

(bullet) The latest recruit to commit to Stanford has a familiar last name.

Patrick Skov is one of the top-rated fullbacks in the country and the younger brother of Stanford linebacker Shayne Skov.

The Cardinal reportedly has 22 oral commitments and is compiling another elite recruiting class.

Before I get to Ron Jaworski’s impressions of Andrew Luck, a few Cardinal-related links:

Here’s a terrific look at Jim Harbaugh’s brash but successful approach to life, courtesy of the Merc’s Mark Emmons.

Now, to my notebook for Friday’s paper, which starts with Jaws on Luck …

MIAMI – Ron Jaworski walked into Stanford’s practice with high expectations for what he’d see out of quarterback Andrew Luck. Two hours later, Jaworski was left shaking his head.

“I’ve seen some of his games on TV and was very impressed, and I’ve looked at the (game tape) and been very impressed,” said Jaworski, the Monday Night Football analyst and former NFL quarterback.

“But seeing him live, I’m blown away.”

Known for his knowledge of the position and intense film study, Jaworski was as impressed with Luck’s presence as his arm or accuracy.

“He looks, acts and carries himself like an NFL quarterback,’’ Jaworski said Wednesday. “He exudes leadership.

“He’s NFL-ready, as sound a quarterback as anyone I’ve seen. He throws a tight spiral, has flawless mechanics and an array of throws.

“I have no doubt he’ll be a successful pro.”

Luck has two weeks to decide if he will enter the draft — he’s projected to be the No. 1 pick — or return for his junior season. The Carolina Panthers (2-13) own the first selection.

“Unfortunately (for the top picks), they come into bad teams because that’s how the system is set up,’’ Jaworski said.

“But we’ve seen (rookie quarterbacks) like the Joe Flaccos and Matt Ryans get into the right situation, where they aren’t expected to win games. That part falls on the head coach.’’

*** Stanford defensive coordinator Vic Fangio spent nearly a month watching film of Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor. He even called several coaches in the Atlantic Coast Conference and asked about containing the league’s player of the year.

“Our biggest challenging will be tackling him in open spaces; that’s where a lot of his stuff comes from,’’ said Fangio, who compared Taylor to Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas.

“With a guy like this, you always have to defend two plays. You’ve got to defend the passing play they’ve called in their huddle, and then you have to defend the play that he might create on his own.”

*** The latest recruit to commit to Stanford has a familiar last name.

Patrick Skov is one of the top-rated fullbacks in the country and the younger brother of Stanford linebacker Shayne Skov.

The Cardinal reportedly has 22 oral commitments and is compiling another elite recruiting class.

The further from the season we get, the less likely I feel either harbaugh or luck coming back is. Perhaps it is just the constant noise about them” definitely” by pundits, but I’m thinking the chances are 80/20 of them leaving.

Huskies just failed 4th and goal. I think they’re going to regret that, but this Tu defense is playing huge. Go pac12!

Leftcoast

Since I can’t second WC’s comment (beaten by Farm Skeptic) I’ll “third” it.

The Stanford women GOT IT DONE against big, bad Geno’s team. We just watched a wire-to-wire win by a Stanford team that looked bigger and badder than the 90 game winners. Will this be the year Stanford takes home a National Championship? Tara’s come back with nothing but memories from the last three Final Fours. This year’s team has played unevenly, looks better at home than on the road but also has a core of young players that just get better every game. Maybe this is the year … maybe.

Tk94111

Congratulations to the card women. The best part was that no one rushed the court. It was like they expected to win. Awesome. They should show this game to the football team, hey you guys are awesome, but not alone.

Tk94111, no one rushed the court because no one at the game was under the age of 40. The students are all on break and storming courts is usually an activity reserved for the kids.

Not to be a downer but while beating UConn is a nice headline it’s a much bigger deal for UConn than it is for Stanford. It would have been nice to see the team put together this performance when it mattered…in the second half of the ’09 national championship game or the ’08 semifinal.

Darius

Congratulations Cardinal Women’s Basketball! Way to rebound from two early season losses.

@Matt, you are being a downer and it’s irrelevant, because the Women did not treat the win as anything bugger than beating the No. 1 ranked team in the middle of the season. Which, last I checked is always a big deal. Couple that with the fact that they’ll go down as 1 of 2 teams (thus far) to book-end historic streaks, and anytime the streak is discussed they’ll be known as the team that started and ended it. Who knows, this could be the catalyst for the Cardinal Women to begin their own historic streak.

I found Purdy’s recount of Harbaugh’s Michigan days a useful and sobering thought on the chances of the coach returning, but more telling and comforting on the chances of Luck returning. IMHO: if Luck returns, no way Harbaugh leaves. So I think Harbaugh is stalling the way he’s been doing to see what Luck does following the Sugar Bowl.

I must admit that while UW’s win sets me back a good deal in out intra-blog pick’ems I am proud of a fellow Pac 10 team sticking it to the other conferences. While not surprising, I was obviously disappointed at Arizona’s piss poor showing at the Alamo.

Tk94111

Yes it’s true the crowd had a AARP feel to it, but I’ve seen plenty of kids and parents (incl me) who’ve been on the field after random games in football

cac90

Thanks to TK9411 for taking note of what I did — no one rushed the court, no excessive celebrations (or penalties for the same). A friend of mine went and said it was the best crowd in terms of energy that he has ever seen at Maples, mens’s or women’s. Better than the Miracle at Maples.

We should all believe that Harbaugh and Luck are gone. Someone said 80/20 they go. Come on, get real. I want an OB win (and will be in the stands) and I say thank you for coming and for getting our program out of the basement. (And I say the same to our O-line, our D-line, Marecic, Toby, and all the others that waded through the muck of Buddy Ball and Not My Fault Walt). Stanford will not be a dynasty in FB, as if we didn’t already know this. This has been a great year, so far, so let’s enjoy it and wish both Jim and Andrew well in their next endeavors.

(and Jim, come on, don’t go to Michigan — that has Ty Willingham / ND written all over it. If you go to the pros and you bust, you still get to return to college ball at some point, which, let’s face it, is way better suited to you than pro ball. But, ask Rich Rod where he will be coaching next, and he will tell you Blynn Community College where the cheater / extorter Cam Newton went after a year of academic fraud at Florida).

elPalo

I am outside the country right now, so thank God for streaming radio from the KZSU website. That was an incredible victory by the women. After beating UConn and Xavier, the Cardinal should be back in the top 5 this week.

Now onto Andrew Luck…Back when practices were open last year, I would stop by Elliot field to watch them practice. Luck was unbelievably efficient and could make ultra-precise throws from 30 yds out. He made it look like a video game. What you see on Saturdays is half his potential. Let’s hope Andrew makes the right choice and comes back to the Farm for another year (hey, Andrew, you can take Master’s level courses and be certified as an architect during your off seasons while in the NFL, but only if you have a degree. Didn’t your Dad get his law degree while in the NFL? And you can try for that Rhodes scholarship just like Dad!).

Jim_PA

So if everything thinks Harbaugh is gone, how should/will succeed him on the Farm?

I have 2 scenarios.

1. Try to keep things similar with Coach Roman and retain a bunch of the staff and see if they continue to be strong without Harbaugh…..Not sure how this would go.

2. Make a hard push for Sark and Nick Holt from Washington to come down to The Farm….Don’t think that’s very realistic either, but I’m wishing here….

harold

Note to Jon Wilner: Count up the number of posts in this thread on women’s basketball. Is it possible you’re wrong in telling people that your readers don’t care about it?

Leftcoast

Here’s a link to the Hotline NCAA Pick ’em pool. Today’s results aren’t tabulated yet so check the link later on tonight to see how everyone is doing. The top three spots were held by 1959, Papa John and GoBears91 going into the day.

One note …. it doesn’t look like the Nebraska/UW result will hurt any of us – at least not our relative position. Almost everyone chose Nebraska to win with a high confidence rating. Only Ratmandoo had UW winning – but he gave the game his lowest confidence score. Ya could have been a contender, R-Man!

Looks like we were divided on the Notre (not so) Lame game so some of you may move up in the standings.

The irony is that the Cardinal are financially better suited to retain Harbaugh than the niners signing him. NCAA football is a cash cow.

(For example, in the 2009 season – of the 68 NCAA football teams which compromise the BCS conferences – only one – Wake Forest, lost money. Four other teams broke even, the remaining 63 teams were profitable. A typical major NCAA football program is much more profitable than their NFL counterparts.)

stanfordfan

Raider Dave – that’s because they don’t have to pay the football players…

FarmSkeptic

So pumped for the game tonight. I know it’s bordering on hubris, but I am feeling a big win. It won’t be a blow out, but it will be definitive. My biggest concern is the mindset of the team with all of the Harbaugh is gone talk. Not that that will be an excuse for a loss, but I hope it doesn’t create any undue distractions. I find it incredibly insulting to this team that 90% of articles on the game are basically vehicles to discuss where Harbaugh will land and how stupid it would be for Luck to come back. It’s game day and the Mercury News chooses to publish not one but two articles on Harbaugh leaving. Sad. Pathetic. Did Jon Wilner really need to fly to Miami to pass off gossip as news?

rioryon

Yep, the sturdy Golden Bare, is losing all his hair… and his stars… The future looks bleak… Read it and weep, Bare fans…:

Stanford’s future fortunes for the 2011 football season began to shine when future all-pro QB Andrew Luck announced, a week after his team’s victory in the Orange Bowl, his desire to return to complete some unfinished football business. Then, shortly thereafter, with the future shining, the stars shining, the sun parting the winter clouds and the cosmos aligning for a zenith in Stanford football, Coach Jim Harbaugh made his decision to make football history, not just read it, and stay on the Farm, for at least one more season creating the most dynamic duo of college coaching, leading the Cardinal to the ‘ship.

At Spring and Fall pre-season practices it soon became clear that a tradition was being born (in honor of his newborn ?). The year started out with much talk of the need to rebuild the O-Line, hit hard by the graduation of 4 of the top 7 linemen from the previous great year. (The linemen who opened d’gaping holes in da’ hokie d ). i mean the loss of Beeler, Phillips, Hall and McGillicuddy is gaping 🙁 ): Ultimately, it was former reserves Tyler Mabry and Kahlil Wilkes who stepped up, along with future TW Union leaders Kevin Danser and Dillon Bonnell, joining with returning starters David “the dominant” DeCastro, and Jonathan “stallwartin'” Martin, along with several other young and upcoming future stars, helping the O-Line reload. Wilkerson, Taylor and Gaffney collectively had a monster year at RB, with Wilkerson running wild for just under 1,500 yds and Taylor backing him up with over 1,000 for the 2nd straight year. Overall, adding in Luck’s mercurial scrambles, the Cardinal almost reached 3,500 rushing yards for the season ! And did you see Gaffney’s run at the end of the 3rd qtr ! The already powerful offense was awe-gmented by Luck’s awesome, Peyton Manning-like ability to read defenses and his amazingly efficient passing. Owusu returned for a full, healthy year to blossom as an explosive deep threat, which was complemented by the emergence of Patterson, Toilolo, and Ertz, along with the steady creative consistancy of TE Coby “the grenade” Fleener flooding n blasting mid-range defensive zones with quality routes and key possession receptions.

But, when all is said and done, it was the maturation of a highly ranked, top 10 Defense, especially the nationally acclaimed LB’s Chase Thomas, Thomas Keiser, and Shayne “the national diskovery” Skov, plus oncoming Gardner and newcomers Tarpley and Vaughters who consistently week after week, shut down opposing offenses in the offense-minded, inaugural year of the PAC-12, like they shut down VT Monday Nite.
Even missing Sherman and Skaufel, DBs Thomas, Howell, Carrington, and Browning stifled opposing air attacks surpassing last year’s interception totals, reaching nearly 30 in 2011; and even without Sione “the huge” Fua and Brian “bullwark” Bulke, the DL, Masofilo, Stephens, Plantaric, Lueders and Mauro were not on the “Down-Low” at all, but often took over the game, applying withering pressure on opposing QBs, or shedding blocks and shutting down opposing RBs, forming the essential, solid first line of Defense, that led directly to Stanford’s phenomenal, first ever, 14-win season, and the National Championship trophy….: